Contracts and crime stir up the forum

L-R Kurt Tibbetts, Alfonso Wright,
Dr. the Hon Frank McField, Ellio Solomon.

Friday,  April 22, 2005

To date, the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce (CICC) District Candidates’ Forums have been conducted with audiences remaining fairly quiet throughout. However, on 18 April when George Town candidates Kurt Tibbetts and Alfonso Wright of the People’s Progressive Movement (PPM), independent candidate, Ellio Solomon, and United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate Dr the Hon Frank McField participated in the sixth in the series, the audience was far from quiet.

When Mr Solomon responded to the last part of the question on the greatest success and the greatest failure of the current government by saying that the government “unfortunately sacrificed democracy” in tackling issues and added, “If democracy is destroyed you have accomplished nothing,” he received the loudest applause for the evening.

There was laughter from the audience following on Dr McField’s response to the first part of the same question when he said, “The removal of Kurt Tibbetts as leader of government to turn the country around. They (the PPM) can’t see the successes because they are blinded to success.”

Mr McField’s statement about the PPM not being able to see the successes was to counter Mr Wright who said he was not able to note a success of the government by responding, “I will pass on (the question of) the success.”

“The UDP has made the issuing of contracts disgraceful,” was another of Mr Solomon’s responses that resulted in murmurs and some applause. In continuing to answer the question, “Is the system of awarding government contracts fair?” Mr Solomon said, “The people of this country must hold them (the UDP) responsible.”

All other candidates had a similar response to this question. Mr Wright said, “The system of tendering has simply not existed in recent years. Fair – that is the most further thing from the truth.” 

Mr Tibbetts said fairness is something that should be obtained and should guarantee that money is wisely spent. Even Dr McField, usually very sharp with his answers, changed tack and said, “I am not aware of all contracts.”

Mr Solomon hit hard with his response to the question, “Was the affordable housing scheme a success or a waste of money?” by saying that it was “a disaster.” He said this was most regrettable because foreigners were awarded contracts when the people of Cayman could have used funds. 

“The quality is not up to standard,” said Mr Solomon. He also added that all the houses facilitate is moving people “from one ghetto to a government ghetto.” Again, there was loud applause.

However, other members of the Forum were a bit easier with the Minister. Mr Tibbetts, though criticising the homes said, “the intentions were good intentions,” and Mr Wright, even while saying that the consultation process on the project should have been more inclusive, he commended the UDP for taking the initiative.

In Dr McField’s retort to his dissenters he played the guilty conscience card with, “The people in these homes have taken what you call nothing,” to make something of their lives. “You mock these people when you mock these homes,” Dr McField said.

His response to a question on why the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) had not been given the resources to deal with increasing levels of crime, triggered audience murmurs as well, when he said, “The police have been given funding. Even Mr (Kurt) Tibbetts once questioned the Commissioner in the House about this and he said they had the types of resources needed.”

However, what was even more startling was the lack of audience response to Mr Tibbetts’s comment on that issue.

“I did ask the question and I know what the answer was. However, they say this publicly and then afterwards they say this and that,” he said. 

Mr Solomon said he believed police received funding but the funding was a little too late. He called it a “violation of trust” when important matters are not attended to in timely fashion.

Mr Wright said that the problem lies with the Finance Committee and that “the priorities of the government are different. They don’t see crime as a priority.”

To the seemingly unavoidable question of status grants Mr Wright and Mr Solomon spoke to the illegality of the act with the former saying that going ahead with the grants was “overriding the provisions of the Immigration Law and created one of the greatest controversies these Islands have ever seen.” 

Mr Solomon said he was not against the granting of status but “they (the government) went against the law.”

On the question of Cayman’s image in relation to money laundering, and also on the question of the need for a referendum on changes to the constitution, all candidates more or less agreed that the negative image was partially as a result of dishonest undermining by other jurisdictions that were losing competitive edge and that there would be no need for referendum on every change.

When asked about their greatest contributions to their district in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, Dr McField extended the olive branch to fellow panellists and said everyone did a “tremendous job.” He went on to vouch for the work he had witnessed carried out by members of the PPM.

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